Pawnbroker H&T Group has revealed its outstanding loan book has broken records as the amount it is owed crashed though the £50 million barrier for the first time.
In a further sign of the tough financial climate, the 186-store group used a trading statement yesterday ahead of its pre-results close period to announce a pledge book of £51.6m at the end of December.
The firm said it was happy with the performance, adding it expects pre-tax profits will be in line with market expectations.
“The core pawnbroking operations continue to perform well, and the group is pleased to announce that it has become the first UK pawnbroker to build a pledge book of over £50m,” H&T said.
New stores and newly-stratified rates on larger loans had allowed it to grow its operations, the company said, but it said profits from dealing in gold had fallen thanks to poorer margins.
The firm, which also has 23 dedicated “GoldBar” units specifically designed to trade in the precious metal, said the business was expected to remain “a steady source of profitability and cash flow”, albeit at lower levels than during recent years.
